Went on a couple short easy trips to test out the how the bones in my arm are knitting together with the Overlander 30 and some other Kriega bits.

First trip was a trial run loaded with my multi week gear for camping cooking etc. Even experimented with strapping 3 liters of water to the side of the OL 30 bags.

The ride was a good shakedown run of some new gear.

With the stock seat my initial concern with the over the seat strap was validated. Even mounted as far back as I could get the bags without protruding too far above the seat the rear strap was bothersome for me on the tarmac slogging sections. No issues in the dirt where I'm standing or sitting a lot farther forward, but when I slide back on the rear of the seat to stretch out on the pavement the buckle would be right where my arse wanted to be placed. Not good.

Had the R15 and R3 fanny pack in addition to the OL30 bags. The R3 is pretty small with not much storage capacity. What it does do perfectly is allow me a waterproof pouch to carry my glucose blood tester, Insulin, Smartphone, and passport and bike documents all securely in one pouch. Very useful for border crossings where you need access to documents easily and yet protected from river crossing mishaps and monsoon rains. Another upside of the R3 is that its the perfect carryall for when in a guesthouse or hotel in a strange city and you're out trolling the night in places your mum would not be proud of and yet all your valuables and diabetic supplies are easily carried in a fairly minimal, unobtrusive package. A great solution for these needs in my situation.

The R15 is a pretty minimal pack and its primary load is my 3 liter hydration bladder and food snacks for my diabetes. The harness system is very convenient for donning on and off over dirt bike armor. A real improvement over traditionl pack straps in this situation. Look at the bulky shoulder pads on my Alpinestars A8 in the last pic and you'll see a normal pack would be impossible to get on and off. the Kriega harness is magic in this situation allowing me to simply unclip, loosen the straps and get out of the pack easily. Another point for Kriega.

The second trip I did was an overnighter without camping gear. Packed a lot lighter and with no R3. I had also modified the seat on the KTM 500 to be wider in the rear, about 10" wide total.

This helped me deal with my issue with the over the seat buckle. I'm guessing extra width padding allows me to keep from shifting as far back on the seat as I need with the stock width seat. This minimized the buckle issue from what was once a major issue to only a minor issue for me. The OL 30 also transitioned from loaded to the gills to loaded 60% with no issues and stayed pretty secure.

Like all riders there are improvements I would like to see as we all strive for the most efficient gear possible but this isn't the place.

Micheal, the Kriega USA rep was also a pleasure to deal with and as can be witnessed by this thread willing to go all the way to make sure his clients are satisfied. That trait is very much appreciated as all too often in this industry can be sorely lacking with a lot of companies. Thanks Micheal.

Hi mate,

Thanks for the feedback and the epic photos!

From what I can gather, the only negative occurs when you want to stretch your legs on pavement. Looking at the photos, it could be that further tightening the seat strap (to raise the bags slightly higher) might help with this. However, the Overlander 30 was designed for off-road use, so if it does it's job in that situation, perhaps not being able to slide right to the back of the bike on slab sections isn't such a severe compromise.

But, as ever, all this info is valued and appreciated. So please feel free to pass on any more opinions you may have.